Part 3

“Will everything stop interrupting me?!” shouted Selenica as she whirled, her sword raised in expectation of demons from the pit seeking to take advantage of her befuddlement. However what she found was a well-dressed man leading a horse and cart filled to the brim with parcels and boxes. He led the horse with one arm because one arm was unmistakably all he had but that wasn’t the only reason Selenica recognised him.

“Dr Aberforth?! What are you doing here? Get back, it’s not s-“

She was stunned as Mira pushed past her excitedly and rushed towards the man.

“Alby!”

“Hullo mum” The man said as he let go of the reins to grip her in a strong hug .

“Mum?!” said Selenica lowering the blade weakly.

“My beautiful boy!” Mira said cupping his face in her hands, he leaned forward obligingly before laughing and gesturing to the laden cart.

“A lot of this was in the waiting in the village post office for a while mum.”

“Then they’re supposed to leave a chit telling me to come pick it up! Oh I hope nothings gone off, didn’t expect this much company today would need feeding…

“They seem to be a wee bit afraid to come up here, last one who did said that he left a package with an unearthly odour-”

“Which is hardly a reason to leave Hallister’s Meady Cheesey Biannual Smorgasboard out in the open! The nerve, waste of the money you send me. I’ll unearthly that lazy lout well and good next time I see him.” Replied Mira irritably “Oh which reminds me Alby, there’s been a few accidents this morning, be a duck and help your mum. I’ll need to check everything is all here!”

Mira dove into the pile excitedly and sounds of her delighted inspection followed Alby as he walked up the path to Selenica

“Hello Captain, your wound is doing better I see.”

Selenica looked at him and looked the shaking cart behind him where a particularly thorough inspection of the most recent package of Spencer’s Prime Pickled Monthly Mountain Pork Mouthfuls was taking place.

“I know I know” Alby said raising his one hand “No place for someone her age but she doesn’t want to move to live with me in the city and go through the hassle of cancelling or redirecting the subscriptions she buys with the money I send her. Not what I had in mind of course but she’s happy.”

“Y-you’re the boy that was abducted?” said Selenica

“If that’s what you want to call it. Funny twitch you’ve got there…” said Alby giving her a once-over of professional concern.

“And what would you call it?”

“I’d call it a kind woman rescuing a boy abandoned in the woods who had the misfortune of being born …incomplete.” His eyes locked with hers as if daring her to deny such a thing happened. She did not. “I’d say she took him in, taught him everything she knew about healing so he’d be the kind of man who’d help others, say like a Knight-Captain who had recently been shot in her side…”

Selenica instinctively reached for her ribs

“…because the MOST important thing I’d have to tell you is that she taught him was that a hands not worth much if it doesn’t have the heart behind it to make the right choices” He finished looking at the Captain’s still drawn sword

Mortified, Selenica sheathed it and bowed slightly in apology “Alright, I see now. Save for her impressions which aren’t really her fault and maybe her expectations of a postal service, she’s a good person. Not a witch.”

“Oh I didn’t say that.” Alby grinned and looked behind her to a thin figure with strange head standing by the cart waiting patiently as Mira handed it more and more packages

“Alright Sam? When you’re done helping mum could I ask you to help us with the poor man in mum’s bog?”

The scarecrow waved